Emergency responders remove the driver from a car that rear-ended an MCPS bus at the railroad crossing on North Franklin Street in Christiansburg Thursday afternoon. The driver was transported to LewisGale Hospital-Montgomery. No students were injured.
A Montgomery County Public Schools bus transporting eight Christiansburg High School students was rear-ended while stopping at the North Franklin Street railroad crossing Thursday afternoon.
Town of Christiansburg spokesperson Melissa Powell said the school bus had come to a stop at the railroad tracks—as required by state law—when it was hit by a Dodge sedan at approximately 12:33 p.m.
The Dodge sedan is towed out from under the MCPS bus.
MCPS spokesperson Brenda Drake said none of the students or four adults on the bus, including the bus driver, were injured. The students were transported back to Christiansburg High School on another school bus.
The driver was the only passenger in the car and was transported to LewisGale Hospital Montgomery by ambulance, Powell said. The driver’s identity and condition had not been released as of press time.
Drake said this is the second time in two weeks that a school bus was rear-ended at the North Franklin Street railroad crossing.
Emergency responders assess the crash just past the intersection of North Franklin Street and Cambria Street in Christiansburg.
“The public should know that school buses are required by law to stop at every railroad crossing, open their doors and look both ways,” Drake said.
The accident two weeks ago occurred in the morning and involved a bus transporting students from Christiansburg High School to Blacksburg High School for classes that are not offered in Christiansburg. Students on the bus involved in Thursday’s accident were being driven to work sites for experiential learning, Drake said.
Powell said Thursday’s crash is under investigation and that no charges have been made.